Word
Der Hausmeister kommt vorbei und schaut sich den Rauchmelder in meiner Küche an.
Meaning
The caretaker comes by and takes a look at the smoke detector in my kitchen.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Der Hausmeister kommt vorbei und schaut sich den Rauchmelder in meiner Küche an.
und
and
in
in
die Küche
the kitchen
mein
my; (masculine or neuter, nominative)
Questions & Answers about Der Hausmeister kommt vorbei und schaut sich den Rauchmelder in meiner Küche an.
Why does vorbei come with kommt—what does vorbeikommen mean here?
vorbeikommen is a common verb meaning to come by / drop by / come over briefly.
In the sentence, Der Hausmeister kommt vorbei implies the caretaker is making a short visit (often to check or fix something), not “passing by without stopping.”
Why are there two verbs: kommt and schaut? Is this one sentence or two?
It’s one sentence with two actions joined by und:
- (Er) kommt vorbei
- (Er) schaut ... an
German often omits repeating the subject (der Hausmeister) after und, just like English: “The caretaker comes by and looks at …”
Why is it schaut sich ... an instead of just schaut ... an?
sich etwas ansehen is a fixed expression meaning to look at / inspect / take a look at something (often carefully).
The sich is a reflexive pronoun that’s part of the idiom. In this context it suggests inspection rather than a quick glance.
What is the grammar of schaut ... an—why is an separated?